Good Vibrations (sex shop)
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| Corporation | |
| Industry | Retail sex toy business |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA |
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Key people
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Jackie Rednour-Bruckman, Executive Vice President Carol Queen, Staff Sexologist |
| Products | Sex toys, adult videos and books |
| Revenue | $11.9 million (2006) |
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Number of employees
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63 (2014) |
| Website | goodvibes.com |
Good Vibrations is a sex-positive San Francisco-based corporation selling sex toys and other erotic products. It operates nine retail stores, seven in the San Francisco Bay Area, and one in Brookline, MA and one in Harvard Square; a mail-order business; an e-commerce website; a wholesale arm; and an erotic-video production company, Good Releasing. Formerly it operated three publishing companies: Down There Press, Passion Press and Sexpositive Productions.
Good Vibrations was the first sex-positive and women-friendly store in the United States, founded in 1977 by sex therapist and educator Joani Blank. Initially established with the goal of being a sex-positive and woman-centered alternative to the 'adult' bookstores of the time, Good Vibrations offered sex information and education, featured erotica and books about sexual health and pleasure, and pioneered the concept of the "sex-positive, clean, well-lighted place" to buy sex toys. A notable part of the store was the display of antique vibrators, which were initially developed as a treatment for female hysteria. This became a tourist draw known as "the antique vibrator museum", which was listed by Frommer's in the category "Best Free Things to Do in San Francisco".
In 1992, Blank sold Good Vibrations to the workers (including herself) incorporating it as a worker cooperative. In 1994, Blank left the company to pursue other interests.
In 1995, Good Vibrations declared May to be National Masturbation Month, to raise awareness of masturbation and sexual health across the country and in response to the firing of then-Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders for saying that masturbation "is part of human sexuality, and perhaps it should be taught." In 1998 it launched the Masturbate-a-thon as part of National Masturbation Month; this strategy to get people to discuss masturbation by getting pledges from their friends later inspired a live event developed by the Center for Sex and Culture.
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